Pay Attention to All Those Forms You Must Fill Out

Wednesday

Aug 3, 2011 at 12:01 AMAug 3, 2011 at 5:32 PM

By MARY TOOTHMANTHE LEDGER

BARTOW | It's time to get your children ready for school, and for parents, one rather persnickety aspect of enrollment is all of the forms that need to be filled out.They can be a little daunting, particularly if a parent has more than one child, or is addressing the forms for the first time. The good news is that the school system has help available — a phone number to call, folks at schools who can advise parents and websites chock full of information.Spokesman Martin Bahl urges parents to get an early start on addressing back-to-school forms and registration issues. It gets very busy at schools, he said, and if someone has an issue or is missing a form, it's much better to address it well in advance."Now is the best time to register kindergarten and new students to the Polk public schools," he said. "Registration now will help to avoid delays at the beginning of the school year. Things can get incredibly hectic because there may be something missing and it can delay things."Lakeland mother Sandra Rowe, who has an 8-year-old son, Gavin Hackett, has her own system in dealing with the forms, although she good-naturedly acknowledges that addressing them isn't her idea of great fun.Her son attends R. Bruce Wagner Elementary. "I usually wait until orientation, August 18th, to get them," she said. "You walk into the classroom and there are pre-filled packets of information in an envelope awaiting every parent. I think in my head ‘Ugh, not again.' I actually sit there and fill them out during orientation. I make sure any and all information I would potentially need for these forms is in my handy smart phone," she said.Parents need to address bus information, supplies, lunch programs, health records, dress codes, transportation, proof of residency, and authorization forms regarding medical issues, to name a few. There's more, and some children may require forms others do not need. One thing all parents need to do, Rowe said, is find out the rules of behavior. And there are plenty of them, she said. She usually goes through multiple forms, and then pulls that packet of information out."Then the code of conduct," she said. "The class goes over this in the beginning of every school year. Then we parents should highlight the information again with our children to discuss how they should act, behave, use manners, do not bring guns, knives, drugs, or any other disruptive material to school. Wear a belt, no long hair, tuck your shirt in, pull your pants up, and no flip-flops."She said she looks over all the information, no matter how extensive. "I suppose this is a necessity so that if the child violates any of the (many) rules and regulations you can't say you were not warned," she said.As a parent, she offers a tip to others: Make sure the contact information is up-to-date or there are all manner of issues if your child becomes ill at school and nobody can be reached.Spokesman Bahl said parents need not worry if they fear they are missing a form or have left something out. With all the resources available online and at schools, help is there for parents. Again, he emphasized, early is better."It's important to do it all beforehand, as far in advance as they can. Schools are already enrolling kids. And if they are new to the district, it's even more important. It will save a lot of confusion and aggravation down the line."Some tips:The section for parents is a good place to start finding information. It is http://www.polk-fl.net/parents/default.aspxCall the Office of Pupil Accounting: 863-534-0716 or visit http://www.polk-fl.net/schools/schoolsinyourarea.htm to learn which school a student is zoned to attend. The Office of Pupil Accounting and individual schools can also give you information on the types of medical, residency and other documents needed for registration.

[ Mary Toothman can be reached at mary.toothman@theledger.com or 863-802-7512. ]